whp@cbnap.UUCP (W. H. Pollock x4575 3S235) (10/10/86)
In article <1275@umd5> dzoey@umd5.umd.edu (Joe Herman) writes: >Rabbi Haber <haber@sunybcs> writes: > >> ROSH HASHANA 5746 >> >>Rabbi Tanchum said: "If someone, who has recited the Shema >>every day of his life, misses it just one evening, it is as >>if he has never said the shma at all. (Berakhot, 63a). > . >I have a problem with this. Suppose one day I forget to say the Shema. >According to Rabbi Tanchum (and I assume Rabbi Haber), I may as well never >say it again. What's the point to saying it, I've alreay blown it. Based on this logic you might as well never start. If your soul reason (sorry, I can't resist a pun) for praying and performing other religious observances is to get into heaven, then if you miss just once you probably won't get there. I think the idea is that religious observance is more than just a mitzvah, it is a rewarding experience in and of itself; thus if you miss the Shema you should still continue to recite it in the future. But you should also strive never to miss a day. Yom Kippur Thought: There is a story I remember form Jewish folklore, about a saint and a sinner who died on the same day, and both appeared before G_d for judgement. G_d asks the saint what reward he thinks he deserves. "I deserve Paradise," the saint replies, "because I always lived uprightly, I studied Torah every day, and I renounced all the pleasures of life as evil." "You do not deserve Paradise!" said the accusing Angel. "One Sabbath, long ago, a flea alit on your head; you crushed him! Lord, this so- called tzaddik killed a defenceless little creature, your creation, and on the sabbath too!" And with that the saint was lead away to share a cell with the soul of the flea he killed, till the comming of the Messiah. G_d then turns to the sinner, who had witnessed the trial of the saint, and asks him "And what reward do you deserve?". "G_d's justice has at last caught up with me!", he wailed. "I've no doubt that the fires of Hell await me - there isn't a vice I haven't practiced, a sin I haven't commited. I've robbed widows and orphans, stole from the poor, slandered my neighbors, and lusted after strange women. But enough - pronounce your punishment and be done with it!" "Just a moment!", cried the defending Angel, "I have a witness who will prove this man was no sinner, but a noble creature." The soul of a young widow was lead to the witness box. "One day," she began, "while I was all alone a fire broke out in the house. I was being consumed by the smoke and flames when this good man, hearing my cries for help, broke throught the flames and saved me!" And the sinner was led through the gates of Paradise. MORAL: Its easy for a saint to avoid sin, since he's not subject to temptation. Therefore the slightest ommision or the smallest sin counts heavily. A sinner, on the other hand, constantly battles with the devil. To resist temptation and perform a noble act will also count heavily in the scales of heavenly justice. Wayne H. Pollock, UUCP: ...{ihnp4,cbatt}!cbnap!whp DELPHI: WHP GEnie: W.POLLOCK "The opinions expressed above are ficticious. Any resemblance to the opinions of persons living or dead is purely coincidental."